Matthieu Pavon is in Hawaii this week to play his first tournament on the PGA Tour. A look back at a climb acquired in Dubai at the end of November 2023.
“You don’t have a classic course, is there a feeling of revenge with this rise on the PGA Tour?
There is a revenge because I had a basic course. I have never been to a hope center or to these infrastructures. Until high school, I only played twice a week. I was very into football until I was 16, 17 years old. As a result, I had fallen far behind the young champions of the time. Afterwards, I tried to have this work rigor that my father (Michel Pavon, the former professional footballer) gave me. I worked a lot for three years before turning pro. Not many people believed in my performance and it was even a driving force. Until last year, there were still quite a few skeptics. But for me, it was fuel that I put in the engine, to surpass myself and make these people lie. By working hard and with great seriousness, you can achieve your dreams.
Do you think about it in Dubai when you sink that putt at 18 to get on the American circuit?
It’s not something that comes to mind first. But when it’s all over, when we take a step back from this performance and we receive lots of messages from friends but especially from other people, I couldn’t help but have a little smile mockingly. To have done it when these people didn’t believe it was very satisfying.
